'the Twilight Zone' Time Enough at Last

Season 1. Episode 8“Time Enough at Last”Originally aired on Nov. 20, 1959Based on a short story by Lynn Venable; teleplay by Rod Serling Spoiler Alert: You should only continue reading if you have seen the episode in question. The Twilight Zone’s themes are revealed in subtle ways that shouldn’t be ruined by reading an essay before you have seen the episode.

This is a classic episode that everyone knows. However, unless you have seen it, you don’t really know it. The story may be familiar, and the ending may have already been given to you, but Burgess Meredith in action as Henry Bemis is acting at its best. Bemis is a man who just wants to be able to read. However, work and his wife conspire against him. The bank manager tells him to stop reading or he will lose his job, and his wife tells him that she won’t have a husband who sacrifices the art of conversation for reading (which seems ironic since the best conversationalists are generally well read). Bemis finds himself to be the last man on Earth and his isolation and loneliness start him on the spiral toward insanity. However, he is better equipped to handle a seeming eternity alone than Walter Bedeker of “Escape Clause” was able to handle an eternity of health without fear of death and illness. This can be attributed to the two different personalities, where Bedeker was always focused on himself and, therefore, incapable of focusing on the people around him, Bemis was always focused on reading, which means that a library is all that it takes to save Bemis from impending insanity and possible suicide. Unfortunately for Bemis, even life in The Twilight Zone isn’t always fair.